Pakistan says security forces, acting on a tip, raided a militant hideout in the central province of Punjab and subsequently killed eight militants during a shootout at the scene.

The Punjab Counterterrorism Department says the shootout took place late yesterday near the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. It says officers asked the militants to surrender but they started firing.

The statement also says the security forces returned fire and when the firing stopped, they found eight bodies of "terrorists." It says three other militants managed to flee from the scene and that a search is underway to trace and arrest them.

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